Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Here we are at the last full week before the new year! 2013 went by really fast. I can't even believe it's almost over. I'm going out with a bang meaning there will be pretty much 2 pictures for every day at least for the days on our trip.

Here is how our last week of 2013 went--spent mostly in Hawaii (I miss those warm temps!)

Day 357- Monday, 12/23/13

In the morning we headed to the Dole Plantation and had fun working our way through their super huge maze. After lunch we hit up a beach on the north shore.

Day 358- Tuesday, 12/24/13

Happy Christmas Eve! We spent a good part of the day at Pearl Harbor and toured this battleship with our travel companions the Wong family. In the evening we met up with my parents who are on a cruise and docked in Honolulu for Christmas. We all took a bus through the city on a Christmas lights tour. Those are my parents in the wild Hawaiian shirts :0)

Day 359- Wednesday, 12/25/13

Merry Christmas! The views on top of Diamond Head are amazing. We did an early morning Christmas hike up this volcano and were happy my parents could join us. They leave tonight to continue their cruise to more islands. Later we took in another beach this time on the southern part of the island closer to where we're staying. Not a bad way to spend the holiday.

Day 360- Thursday, 12/26/13
A 5 am wake up call got us off to a snorkeling cruise which consumed most of our day. We had a professional photographer on the boat as part of our package and she took some amazing shots of us above and under water. I took the first shot of John and Brandon all suited up and ready to swim, and she took the second with Justin spying all those fish! Such an amazing experience. We saw fish, spinner dolphins, and sea turtles.

Day 361- Friday, 12/27/13

Sunrise at Hanauma Bay--one last trip to the beach (those are my footprints in the sand) and then a quick trip to the aquarium on our way to the airport. Sadly we had to fly home today.

Day 362- Saturday, 12/28/13

We landed just after 2 am this morning after a few delays (one taking off and then one waiting for luggage). We got home just after 3 am, slept for a few hours and then did Christmas at home. Yawn!

Day 363- Sunday, 12/29/13

The worst part about traveling is coming home and having to do all that laundry. The cat can't even believe the size of our pile. LOL! After sleeping in, and hitting up the store to restock our home, my day was spent tackling this beast.

Day 364- Monday, 12/30/13

John has the next few days off until after the New Year so we decided to take in a movie and see the 2nd Hobbit together.

Day 365- Tuesday, 12/31/13

Happy New Year's Eve! I've had a pile of donations I've been meaning to drop off but haven't quite got around to it until today. Yikes! Nothing like waiting until the last minute, but it's done. John is sick so we are staying home for a quiet New Year's Eve.

I had to squeeze in those last couple days. This is the end. How crazy is that?! Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a safe and happy New Year and I'll hopefully see you in 2014!!

Happy Tuesday and New Year's Eve! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We had a fantastic time on vacation in Hawaii. A lot of good memories were made, and a lot of great adventures took place. It was so nice to get away.

Here's a look at the week leading up to that and the start our journey:

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Day 350- Monday, 12/16/13

Santa came to visit the neighborhood this evening by firetruck so the boys and I ran to the corner to greet him and made it just in time.

Day 351- Tuesday, 12/17/13

I'm pretty busy at work running a bunch of last minute blood tests for antibodies against our parasites before the holidays. When an animal is positive I always say the bugs light up like a Christmas tree which seems fitting for this season.

Day 352- Wednesday, 12/18/13

I have no time to bake Christmas cookie plates this year with us taking off in a few days, but I did at least get to bake some pumpkin bread for people at work. They are wrapped and all ready to go for my last day before vacation tomorrow.

Day 353- Thursday, 12/19/13

Haircuts and Hot Cocoa- Today is the last day of school before winter break and it was a short day so we ran over to Supercuts for a quick trim and then stopped by Starbucks for a warm treat.

Day 354- Friday, 12/20/13

Today we are packing and prepping for our big trip to Hawaii but also took some time to let the kids open one gift before we leave. They are super excited but also bummed they have to wait for everything else until we return.

Day 355- Saturday, 12/21/13

Hawaii bound- It's travel day! The flight was 5 hours and we immediately felt the heat as soon as we stepped off the plane. Welcome to paradise! This is our Hawaii home for the next 7 days.

Day 356- Sunday, 12/22/13

It's our first full day on Oahu and time to explore the island. We went shopping at Aloha Stadium in the morning and then headed to Paradise Cove for a Luau.

Wait! One more:

December's Family Photo

Of course it had to be of our beautiful family in Hawaii. Can you tell who got a little too close to the waves on the beach? LOL! He's such a boy.

That's it for this week, but don't worry next week is coming soon. I just need to get through the 2nd half of my pictures. I'll post the last week of 2013 later this afternoon.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Here we are at Tuesday again with only one week until Christmas! It's going to be a super busy but super fun week. I have a to-do list a mile long that I'm working on getting through both at work and home before we fly out Saturday. Speaking of which, I will be on vacation and away from my computer so no blog post next week. I'll be spending Christmas Eve on a sunny beach with friends and family neglecting any and all weekly duties including my blog. Never fear, though, the following week I'll have a double post that I'm sure will not disappoint ;0)

Here's a look at last week:

Day 343- Monday, 12/9/13

I picked up a poinsettia for our home to complete my decorating. It's just not Christmas without one, and it pairs perfectly with my favorite Santa and glass tree.

Day 344- Tuesday, 12/10/13

Remember that huge rocket slide at the MIND party over the weekend? Turns out Brandon went down on his stomach with his arms behind his back and ended up checking his speed with his chin. Ouch! He managed to get a nice rug burn that's finally starting to scab over. I keep wanting to wipe his face thinking it's food or something--drives me nuts!

Day 345- Wednesday, 12/11/13

Speaking of the MIND party, we got a call today saying we won a gift basket in the free drawing. Last year we won an ice-cream maker in a basket and this year it's a Giant's themed basket. I told you they throw the best parties. The boys and I were more than happy to run over there and pick it up. This thing is so huge and filled with a lot of great goodies!

Day 346- Thursday, 12/12/13

Somehow I managed to get our Christmas cards addressed and mailed today. It feels good to have that done and out of the way. It's still pretty cold out hence the warm drink and fire which also help make the process all the more enjoyable. I love how the tree lights shine across the table and cards.

Day 347- Friday, 12/13/13

Here's a kid after my own heart. Brandon's been diligent about taking a picture of our elf and his where abouts everyday since he arrived. This morning we found him clowning around with mustache stickers. The boys thought this was hilarious. Justin was so proud the elf gave him one that looks like Luigi's of Mario and Luigi. Who knew?

Day 348- Saturday, 12/14/13

Wow! A Saturday with all of us at home. Tyler's first winter polo tournament was canceled which opened up our day for some good family time. The boys worked in pairs to wrap brother gifts and then later teamed up to decorate a gingerbread house that the elf left for them. There's all kinds of Christmas goodness happening around here, and we love it!

Day 349- Sunday, 12/15/13

It's another weekend day at home with a slow start, and it's been awhile since we had a nice, big, Sunday breakfast so I busted out the griddle and whipped up some pancakes--a few with chocolate chips and few without because that's how we roll.

All done! Have a great Christmas everyone one. Hopefully I'll be back on-line the Tuesday of New Year's Eve to show you how we enjoyed our holiday in Hawaii. Aloha!

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Welcome to Tuesday! Can you believe there are only a few more Tuesdays left in the year?! It's always a crazy but fun finish with so much happening in December. Boy has it been freezing out with a cold snap in effect. It most certainly feels like winter now, and I'm happy to hear there has been snow in the mountains. Ski season is just around the corner and we need a good base. It's always great for them to get snow just before Christmas too since it's one of their busiest times of the year. We won't be heading to the hills though, we'll be going tropical and heading towards warmer temps. Can't wait! Until then . . .

Take a look at how we started December:

Day 336- Monday, 12/2/13

Scout, our Elf on the Shelf, has been making himself right at home. The boys are loving his crazy antics and having fun finding him every morning.

Day 337- Tuesday, 12/3/13

It's time to walk the dog and the wind is howling as the temperatures start to drop for a cold snap. I was more than happy to bundle up in my long, sleeping bag like jacket for the job.

Day 338- Wednesday, 12/4/13

Tonight was the High School Water Polo banquet. The boys had a fantastic season and are sorry to see it end. The next day they found out only 1 of the 5 boys that tried for ODP made the first cut. We wish him well in the next tryout and hope he makes the second cut too. For the rest there is always next year and in the meantime the city's winter polo league starts soon. Brrr!

Day 339- Thursday, 12/5/13

Brandon looks forward to opening the windows on his advent calendar every day for a little chocolate treat.

Day 340- Friday, 12/6/13

The boys came home early from tennis because it started to rain--it's so cold out we're hoping for possible snow tonight or first thing tomorrow. Justin is unwinding from his week by watching old episodes of his favorite shows on the computer. This is one of his favorite Friday night things to do.

Day 341- Saturday, 12/7/13

No snow, but we did have a fun party to attend. The MIND Institute had their annual thank you party for the kids, and they always go big to throw the best parties. It was a space theme this year with fun slides and bounce houses outside plus rooms with space-themed games inside and lots of good food, door prizes, and gift bags.

Day 342- Sunday, 12/8/13

What's better than chicken wings and a football game on a Sunday? The boys suited up to watch the Niners beat their biggest rival, the Seahawks, while I locked myself away to start wrapping presents. A tree without presents under it bothers me so I've been unsettled all week and now I can relax a bit ;0)

That's all folks! Only 3 weeks of the year left! Hope to see for the rest of them.